This has been a long time coming. When I started brainstorming for this list at the beginning of the year, I never would’ve imagined how difficult it would’ve been to try to recall and rank every game I’ve ever played. I spent weeks brainstorming the list, and my original first draft had around 110 games overall. I spent an agonizing month gradually narrowing the list down from those 110 to the 60 here – I used every trick I could think of to rule some of them out. Some games I went back and played again, watched footage of them, tried to see how much I could actually remember about them, and if I could write a convincing argument for why they were awesome. Afterall, if I couldn’t convince myself, then maybe they weren’t as good as nostalgia painted them, right?

These final 6 games were always on the list. While the rest of the Shadow’s Sixty changed dramatically from draft to draft, very little about the Top 6 has changed from the start. These games are the best I’ve ever played, and there was very little question in my mind about which games belonged up top. And that is why I am so pleased to reveal this list to you – the final entries in this, my Shadow’s Sixty. So let’s get to it and unveil gaming’s greatest, as I see it.

It’s time to bid farewell to another Ai-Kon. This was Ai-Kon’s 15th anniversary… an impressive feat for a convention in such a small city. But what is more impressive is that Ai-Kon has grown so much. Looking from last year to this year, it almost seems as though the size of the convention centre may have been the only thing previously holding it back. This year’s event showed almost explosive growth… but has it grown too quickly?

These months are just flying by… it’s so hard to believe it’s already July. Canada day has come and gone, and we’re moving steadily through our JRPG craziness. Last month, we talked about E3, previewed a few of the spring shows I’d been watching, and started the Spring anime reviews as series started to wrap things up. The first three were The Lost Village, Asterisk War’s second season, and Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World. We also unveiled two more entries in the Shadow’s Sixty! We’re in the home stretch now, with only 3 more lists to go as we have counted down to 19 now. We should be wrapping this up over the next two months, as we unveil the top 18 games of all time in my eyes!

It’s crazy. The days and weeks have flown by. Between a short-notice vacation to Vancouver (pictures to follow soon), an amazing Selubration, a plethora of game releases, and the anime season continuing strong… I’ve just barely managed to keep afloat among all of the awesomeness that happened this past month.

We finished the last of the Winter 2016 anime reviews with Myriad Colours Phantom World and played 4 separate games, including both Uncharted 4 and Ratchet and Clank. We are also continuing the Shadow’s Sixty, and are currently halfway through the countdown of the best games I’ve ever played. Wanting to see whether your favourite has made the cut yet? Check out the list as it continues to develop.

I’m posting this from another place… as I’m currently on vacation in Vancouver. But I didn’t want to leave you guys completely hanging with nothing to read, so I got this all set up for you!

The Shadow’s Sixty has crossed eras, genres, and styles. It’s featured the largest and smallest gaming has to offer… we’ve witnessed the birth of a genre and the refinement of another. We’ve crossed time itself, defeated Gods, and created unfathomable treasures. And that was just the first quarter… imagine what the rest has in store for us?

This entry gives us the opportunity to explore an ancient city, blow our friends up, race across a rainbow road, and even use the power of dragons! Without further ado… let’s explore Ranks 42 to 37 of the Shadow’s Sixty.